She turned the page to the very beginning of the book she was reading.
“Is that Melanie’s handwriting?” Elaine asked, sitting next to her friend on the swing set.
Elaine gestured for me to join them too. Dawn nodded in approval, and I sat on the floor at Elaine’s feet.
“Yes, she wrote this entire book,” Dawn said. “She wrote so many things. There are hundreds of scrolls in the temple’s library. The names and descriptions of human emotions. Detailed instructions on how to create the connection between the shadows and humans. The early history of this world before it even became the kingdom. And even how the shadows transformed into the fae for the first time ever. But this book she wrote specifically for me. See?” She pointed at the first page with ink-black writing in a language I couldn’t read.
“It says‘To my little sister. Don’t be afraid, Dawn. After a storm always comes peace,’” Elaine translated for me, her eyes already glossy from welling tears too.
I knew these words well. They were often spoken among shadow fae as a soothing, comforting message passed on from parents to their children. Only the Joy Guardians had inadvertently modified it during the translation. The way I remembered the words of the First Priestess was, “Don’t be afraid of the dawn. After a storm always comes peace.”
The words that many generations of shadow fae whispered to themselves during a trying hour while holding on to hope were actually meant for the sister of the woman who wrote them. And somehow, that made them even more profound and their meaning even more comforting.
“Melanie didn’t land in a good place when she returned to our world,” Dawn spoke. “She says here that she was happy knowing that I stayed with the man I loved instead of following her through the portal. She says she came back to Alveari tosave her life when it was threatened. But there was nothing but chaos and shadows here back then. She had to literally start a civilization from scratch.”
“And she did it.” Elaine smiled.
“She did,” Dawn laughed. “My sister is the First Priestess, can you believe it?”
“If anyone could do it, it’d be Melanie. She always reached high.”
“She was so stubborn.” Dawn wiped off her tears.
“That helps too,” Elaine agreed.
Dawn closed the book and stroked its tough, snake-skin cover.
“Melanie bonded with a shadow,” she said, staring at the cover as if reading right through it. “She lived for over five hundred years because a bond with a fae expands the human mate’s lifespan. It makes me happy that she achieved so much, found her true love, and well…founded a whole entire world. But a part of me…” She drew in a shaky breath. “A part of me is sad, knowing the truth. Melanie is truly dead now. When I didn’t know what happened to her, I always had hope that I may see her again one day by some miracle. Now that hope is gone.”
Her chin trembled again, and Elaine wrapped her arms around her friend.
I left them then, not wanting to disturb their mourning. There were many bonds in life, magical and otherwise. I shared a deep connection with Elaine, the one that bound our souls, bodies, and hearts. But she also had a bond of friendship with Dawn, and she could comfort her in grief better than I ever could.
Afew days later, a man approached me at the market. His garment was still lifted over his head as if he’d just come to the city from the desert.
“General.” He approached my chair.
I’d just bought a small case decorated with a mosaic of shimmering beetle wings set in gold filigree. The merchant asked a hefty price for it, but the exquisite workmanship and the rare materials told me the case was worth it. It also was just the right size for Elaine to put her glasses in before going to bed.
Elaine wouldn’t let me buy it if she knew how much it cost. But she would absolutely enjoy having it, and my general’s wages allowed me to spoil her as much as I wished.
I placed the case into my satchel, then slipped a hand into the slit of my skirt, finding the handle of a throwing dagger strapped to my thigh. Breathing fire was an excellent weapon that was always with me. But unless I wished to burn an entire city block to the ground, I often found my throwing knives a more preferable option to deal with people on an individual level.
“It’s me, General.” The man pulled the end of his garment away from his face.
“Zayr?” I recognized Ray’s former enforcer and let go of the dagger. “When did you get to Teneris?”
“Just this evening. I had no idea where to search for you. Thankfully, you aren’t hard to find.”
“No, I’m not,” I agreed.
My chair was easy to spot in the crowd. I’d stopped wearing a cloak a while ago too. Most people in Teneris recognized menow. The odd stares I still got every now and then mostly came from newcomers or visitors.
“How are you doing, Zayr? I’m really glad to see you alive,” I said sincerely.
“I’m well, thanks to you.” He nodded, the end of his garment swayed over his face, and I had no idea how he clipped it to his bald head. “If you didn’t tell me to run and hide, I’d be dead or captured for sure that day. Ashgate is still a mess. The shacks are all gone, and half of the caves are unusable. The water in the underground river is still briny after the Big Wave. But I have salt, just like you told me. Two bags of it.”
“You have salt?” I shook my head in disbelief. “You did it?”
